新冠病毒的漂亮外衣

这一波病毒真的是来势凶猛，一路过关斩将，乘坐现代化的交通工具，发射状的延伸到地球的东西南北方，轻轻飘过就撂倒一大片！

面对世界各地每天不断上涨的数字，心情很沉重，把这些数字变成人，每一个都是一个家庭的悲剧，更别说那些全家都因为病毒过世的家庭。为这些逝去的人们祈祷，在天堂安息！

西雅图，这个美西北角落里的浪漫城市，因为与国内直线距离最近的关系，获得了两个第一：美国第一例新冠肺炎城市和第一例新冠肺炎致死案例（刚刚看到新闻，有了第二例死亡）。

感觉危险就在身边不远了，小心，避免近距离接触人，减少外出，祈祷一切都尽快过去！

看到各种媒体发出的冠 状 病 毒照片，我真的被他们艳丽的色彩迷住了，网上随手一搜，就出来了这么多图片，一个个美艳绝伦，简直是病 毒界的美女！这排列组合，这传播和繁衍速度，简直是生物史的奇迹，难道一个个病毒也有人类一样的智慧细胞？

就像漂亮的蘑 菇有毒一样，穿着漂亮衣服的病 毒更有毒性，希望大家都不要遇到她们！

冠状病毒病毒体结构图，显示出像太阳日冕一样形成“冠状”的尖峰，因此得名。

来源：https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3D_medical_animation_corona_virus.jpg

以下病毒，选自网络，新冠病毒家族的各个成员，含SARS，伊波拉，艾滋病等等。

病毒——人类和动植物大部分疾病的起源——的结构，也可以用数学来解释。病毒比多数的生物分子大，却是细菌的 100 万分之一。病毒的数量庞大（是人类的 10250 倍），种类繁多（已知的病毒种类已经超过 5000 种，总数可能超过百万）。病毒的遗传物质包裹在蛋白质里面，每种病毒都有一种特定的结构，大部分是十二面体的或者螺旋形的：就像足球形状或者螺旋楼梯。

了解病毒结构能够为疾病治疗提供新方法，这就要用到主要的数学工具之一——几何，但也有一个难点：需要在多维空间中计算。经典的欧几里得几何学，描述的是二维（平面）和三维（空间）。

分析病毒的形状需要用到一个我们不熟悉的概念： 六维空间几何学 。不是指病毒来自 “六维空间” ，而是六维数学能更好地了解三维空间中的病毒，因为病毒复杂的三维形状，就可以成为六维空间中的缩影，或者其中的一片，并且变得更简单易懂。

几何学能够预言形成病毒表面蛋白质单元的个数的一些特殊情况，比如 32，42，72，92，162，252 和 362。这与病毒的真实情况非常吻合，比如传染性犬肝炎病毒的蛋白质结构有 362 个单元、人瘤病毒蛋白有 72 个单元。这两种病毒的结构都类似网格球顶。然而，在卡斯帕-克鲁格理论（Caspar-Klug）中也有例外的情况，比如导致类人猿或者人类患肿瘤的猿猴空泡病毒。

病毒的二十面体糖衣蛋白是由 20 个三角形组成，每个三角形都是蛋白质单元的排列，就像最初的斯洛克台球一样。富勒因 “网格状球顶” 而著名，这种球顶由大量的三角面板组合在一起，结构近似球形。卡斯帕和兰格发现，大多数的病毒也有类似富勒球顶的几何结构，形成 “伪二十面体” 。称为 “伪”，是因为这 20 个三角形的每个面，都被细分为了更小的三角形。

#以下是新型冠状病毒肺炎的症状：

1. It will first infect the throat, so the throat will have the dry sore throat feeling which will last for 3 to 4 days

一开始病毒会感染喉咙，喉咙会觉得很干，这种感觉大约持续3-4天。

2. Then the virus will blend into the nasal fluid and drips into the trachea and enter the lungs, causing pneumonia. This process will take 5 to 6 days.  然后病毒会侵入鼻液，再流入气管，最后进入肺部导致肺炎。这个过程大约持续5-6天。

3. With pneumonia, comes high fever and difficulty in breathing. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You will feel like you are drowning in water. It's important to go seek immediate medical attention if you feel like this. 这个肺炎的表现是高烧和呼吸困难。鼻腔堵塞的感觉跟普通感冒不太一样，你会觉得有一种溺水无法呼吸的感觉。如果发生这种状况的话请及时就医。

About prevention:

关于预防：

1. The most common way of getting infected is by touching things in public, so you must wash your hands frequently. The virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 mins, but a lot can happen in those 5-10 mins (you can rub your eyes or pick your nose unwittingly).通常最有可能感染的方式是在公共场合触摸了带有病毒的物体，所以记得勤洗手。病毒在你手上只会存活5-10分钟，不过即使是短短的5-10分钟，也要十分警惕（不要用手揉眼睛或者不自觉地抠鼻子）

2. Aside from washing your hands frequently, you can gargle with Betadine Sore Throat Gargle to eliminate or minimize the germs while they are still in your throat (before dripping down to your lungs). 

除了勤洗手之外，还可以用漱口水漱口，这样可以杀死或者减少存留在喉咙里的病菌，防止其落入肺部引起肺炎。

Take extra care and drink plenty of water.

请一定多加小心，记得多喝水。

James Robb, MD UC San Diego. 詹姆斯.萝卜，加州大学圣地亚哥分校医学博士

Subject: What I am doing for the upcoming COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic

新冠疫情扩散下我的防备攻略

Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.

众所周知，我是冠状病毒的分子病毒专家，从70年代到现在一直在研究这些病毒。所以我是有发言权的。

The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.

现在大规模在美国爆发还只是一个可能，现在还是数据不足。但是广泛传播要到三月底四月。

Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.:

我预防冠状病毒的方法和防止流感一样，只是增加口罩和手套。

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.

不要和别人握手。用碰拳头，小鞠躬，碰胳膊肘等代替。

2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.

只用手指关节去开灯的开关和电梯按钮。用纸或者戴手套加汽油。

3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip - do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.

不要用手抓门把，特别是公共厕所，邮局，商业中心的门。用拳头和屁股把门撞开。

4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.

如果店里有抗菌湿巾提供，用它来擦所有碰到的把柄和儿童座。

5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.

每次从外面回家，至少用肥皂洗手20秒。

6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home's entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can't immediately wash your hands.

在家里的门口和车里放一瓶消毒液。

7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!

如果来得及，尽量打喷嚏擤鼻涕到纸巾上。如果来不及用胳膊肘捂了，要及时换衣服。

What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:

在美国家里，我囤积了一下物资：

1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.

一次性橡皮手套，外出时备用。

Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average - everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. 

注意，病毒靠咳嗽和打喷嚏产生的较大的水雾珠传播的，不是因为空气本身。所有的水雾珠会落在各种各样的表面，在那里呆一个星期之久。所有感染的人碰过的东西都有病毒。

The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.

这个病毒只会感染你的肺，而进入的途径就是你的口鼻。所以唯一被感染的机会是你的手带到你的口鼻除非有人直接对着你的脸打喷嚏咳嗽。

2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth - it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.

在家里储存一些一次性医用口罩。其实口罩并不是用来防止别人对你打喷嚏，而是阻止你的手老是去碰你的口鼻。你可能不知道，我们每天不知不觉会碰自己的口鼻90次以上。

3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.

储存一些洗手消毒液，最好是含有有60%以上酒精那种。买一些手套。

I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.

和大家一样，我希望冠状病毒的疫情能够得到控制。科学界已经学到很多关于这个病毒的东西。可是毕竟人类没有见过这个病毒，也没有建立对它的免疫力。我不认为一年内会有真正有效药物和疫苗开发出来拯救人类或者控制病毒。目前只能减缓病状。

I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. 

Good luck to all of us! Jim

我希望我这样个人的想法对你有所帮助。欢迎你和大家分享这份文章的内容。

祝我们好运！

詹姆斯

James Robb, MD FCAP